Lucifer was tired. It was only natural he would be after being beaten that badly. On top of that, he had to ride a horse for several hours to avoid being captured by the soldiers.
Yet, even in that condition, the curiosity was keeping him awake.
He stayed quiet until the meal, but once he was full, he found enough energy to ask the questions that he had in his mind.
"So, Old man, what in the world are you? Your stats say you are a level 1 guide with no sub-classes. But your talk sounds like some wise mid-level sage."
Normally, the stats would include more than the class and sub-classes level, but one would require a certain level of skills or items to be able to see all.
Now the question here would be, 'who regulated these systems?' The answer to this was the same as the answer to every unproven miracle out there — God.
If one were to ask, 'who created nature to be so perfectly balanced? How can all these little little components work in sync to sustain a world? Who thought of all this? Who had a mind big enough to calculate all these tiny things?' The answer usually came in the form of something that exists in the form of beliefs.
The old man grinned. There was a hint of playfulness mixed in that smile of his.
"I am what you see. It's just that I acquired all these experiences before the Crescer ceremony. And as it goes, the system can only calculate levels and grant sub-classes based on the experiences after the ceremony."
Lucifer was surprised. He had never heard of anyone who had done something like that before.
What the old man said was something like practicing for tests but not attending the exams to fool people using grade sheets.
"Are you insane, old man? Why would anyone do that?"
In this world where levels were considered of utmost importance, doing something like that was equivalent to going insane. The smile the old man responded with made Lucifer feel like the man had a few screws loose in his head.
"Well, I have my reasons for this. And you, a level 0, should stop lecturing me about things. You have a lot to learn, boy. A lot about you, me, and this world."
"HA! I will be out of this place as soon as I am done with the ceremony, old man."
The old man looked at the sky. As the night was getting darker, the stars were becoming brighter and brighter, and more beautiful.
After a moment of silence, the old man looked towards Lucifer.
"Where will you go next, and how? You will only be level one something. Do you really think you will be able to go very far on your own? Your first day of adventuring, and you were almost locked for your whole life. Do you really think you have what it takes to survive in this world?"
Lucifer looked at the sky being reflected on the surface of the water. Based on what happened today, he was certain that he still didn't have what it takes to travel, survive, and grow on his own.
"Yeah, I know, old man. But I'm not afraid of hard work. I don't care where or how I end up; the only way for me is forward. I won't return until I have reached my peak. You will see me."
The old man laughed while putting his hand on Lucifer's shoulder.
"Ha-ha-ha! Then so be it! I will guide you as long as I can. It's not like you can survive much longer on your own anyway."
Lucifer was confused for once. He still wasn't sure why or for what reason the old man was helping him. But one thing was for sure. The old man did save him once, so trusting him a little longer shouldn't be a problem.
They then set up the tent for the night.
They did it before dinner to prevent the evening wind from ruining their dinner with riverbank's sand.
"Well, alright. Now that we will be traveling together, tell me more about yourself, old man. I am not stupid enough to believe this all is just coincidence."
"Yeah, yeah, but let's sleep for today. We need to move before dawn tomorrow; we will have a lot of time to talk about it on the way."
Lucifer sighed. He was barely keeping himself awake, so the offer sounded too attractive to reject.
"Uh… Okay. I guess we will have plenty of time tomorrow."
The two walked into the tent. Space inside was a little congested, but the two could adjust.
Lucifer had a lot going on in his mind. It was his first night after leaving home, after all.
On top of that, a lot happened in a single day. And it could hardly be called a good start of any journey.
However, despite the adversities, it was still a day filled with adventure.
He knew that the path he chose wasn't as easy as everyone else's. Here, he would either reach the top or die before reaching his goal.
But no matter what happens, his goal from this day forth was to enjoy every moment of his life and treat every day as his last.
After being lost in thought for a while, Lucifer realized the old man was already asleep. He was snoring so loud that it wasn't hard to notice.
Lucifer smiled as he brought his hand in front of his face and made a fist. The fire of adventure was burning so bright within him that even when his body was tired, his mind was working more actively than ever.
He had no concrete goal except leveling up and reaching as high as he can. But in this world, that was no small goal because the higher you go, the harder it is to survive.
Even though a lot was going through his head, he closed his eyes and started counting levels. And somewhere in the middle, he fell asleep.